BitCandy@SXSW Part.2

Photos by Chris Chan

And we’re back! We survived yet another year of hipster drunken madness. Yes, yes thank you all for your concern. Feel free to send epson salt for my sore feet and some Pepto-Bismol to my P.O. Box. With so much to see, eat, do, and drink... after the first 24 hours in Austin, things got a bit blurry and painful. But we managed to catch some of the best and loudest acts of the week.To say this trip was amazeballs would be an understatement, it was epic. Our top picks for the best Unknown Artist at SXSW 2013 were right on the money. If you haven’t checked out the list: WTF are you waiting for?! Get to it yo!

Below are some of the bands we saw in action. Some surprised us while others made us run far, far away in another direction.

Nü Sensae

We caught up with Nü Sensae performing at The Fader Fort. These guys brought back everything I loved about the 90s: flannel and grunge and were also the fiercest act of the day. FYI: Holy Shit Frontwoman Andrea Lukic can light up the show with just her growl alone.

 

UME

Here’s the thing about SXSW and other music festivals: It’s a mad house, you have 5 min to set up, 15 minutes to play, no soundcheck here baby. I personally think Ume has pretty good songs, but on Wednesday the sound gods were not on their side. Sound quality was poor, the temperature was hot, and the drunks were not pleased.

 

Delorean

After a mouthful of free tacos we headed over to the Brooklyn Vegan Day Party and caught the outdoor stage closing act. Delorean brought on a feel good vibe by playing “Real Love.” Video below:

 

Toro Y Moi

A couple of weeks ago we told you guys that TYM was just not cutting it for us. Let me sum up the performance: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. In all seriousness it was a pretty decent set.

 

Family of The Year

So glad we caught these guys playing across town. The indie rock band from L.A. takes the award for best hair of the night and most memorable performance of Wednesday. Is it just me or does anyone else feel sad when listening to “Hero”?

 

Poolside

Poolside brought some much needed chill to Austin.

 

Caveman

For a band whose sound system sucked they sounded pretty good. But it was their sharp attire that won me over.

 

Besnard Lakes

 

Young Galaxy

This year seemed like it was the year if the Canadians at SXSW eh. Young Galaxy charmed everyone with their gooey rock/80s vibe.

Alt-J

We became fans of the British indie pop quartet last year. Already featuring them on a couple of posts we didn’t think it be possible to like them even more. To hear them live and to see the reaction of the audience is priceless.

 

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

Surprised that we managed to wake up alive with only minor queasiness we rolled outta bed, tackled a bike cab, and started our day off with our friends from New Orleans:

 

Generationals

 

Airplane Boys

These guys are great at telling a story through a song. They’re on the cusp of potentially blowing up. We’ll see right?

 

Gemini Club

 

St. Lucia

Okay so I was one of the many that intentionally checked out St. Lucia for the sake of getting my dance on. They played an excellent set. It could have been the beer or the effing heat but I was singing and clapping along to every song.

 

Icona Pop

Oh the Swede pop-starlets were well received. The gals brought plenty of energy and the crowd ate it up.

 

Braids

Braids drew quite a crowd. A much different sound was noted and I like it. The duo has taken a darker tone over the past couple of years...vocals still amazing.

 

Shugo Tokumaru

Two reasons why this was my favorite set: FREE Jameson shots and the best vocals out of the day performers.

 

Aisha Burns (of Balmorhea)

 

Mikal Cronin

Cronin was able to pump up the crowd with songs both old and new, and ended his performance by dropping to his knees...I’m still not buying his new album.

 

Beach Fossils

Beach Fossils came equipped with a whole lotta of fuzz sounds and dream pop. The band proved to be a worthy choice for the day.

 

Adrian Lux

Need I say more? Republic Live was packed. FYI: Drunk people with glow sticks is a pretty genius combination. The Ultra Records Showcase also featured some guy named Benny Benassi.

 

Benny Benassi

Tegan and Sara

No way in hell were we to miss Tegan and Sara's performance. Our fav Canadian’s pounded the set with lots of energy and played songs from their latest album Heartthrob.

Make sure to head over to our Facebook page to see all SXSW 2013 pics. We’ll be posting Part Tres of our trip shortly.

To be continued.........